


Fortune Cookie

by Goodwin



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers
Genre: Fluff, M/M, SHIELD Husbands, past loneliness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-10-28 07:37:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10826748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goodwin/pseuds/Goodwin
Summary: Clint has always made Phil's dreams come true.





	Fortune Cookie

Phil stepped past the threshold of the outdoor room, glass walls rolled open wide to let in the late afternoon island sun, and gazed out at the sand and waves. The soft sounds of the background music drifted to him, fading away under the ocean's own noises. The sand crunched under his dress shoes, and he looked down, considering. 

 

Some time later (maybe 20 minutes? When had he lost track?) awareness arose in him and he found himself quite alone and looking out across an endless length of sand and sea. He smiled at the conceit and wiggled his toes deeper into the white sand. No island paradise taken over by Tony Stark for his wedding party could be truly deserted. Tony was, he thought, taking the island out on approval; if Steve liked it, it would likely be theirs in short order. Even the sunlight seemed to take on an ethereal quality at this latitude; Tony had probably sought it out just for Steve. 

The sun glinted off a particularly splashy wave, and he tilted his head back and closed his eyes to enjoy the warmth. His rolled-up suit pants would never be the same, he thought, and smiled again. He sensed, more than heard, the footsteps quietly approaching but stayed as he was. Rather than moving to his side though, the footsteps stopped directly behind him and he was enveloped in warm arms. 

He gasped. 

"Phil? You okay? Didn't mean to catch you off guard," Clint said. He moved as if to pull away, but Phil caught his arms and held him in place, warm against Phil's back. 

"No, no, I'm fine," he said softly. His voice broke a bit as he added, "Please stay." He clenched his eyes shut against the sudden tears and bit his lip, but emotion was getting the better of him, and he hadn't even seen it coming. 

He took a steadying breath and leaned back against Clint. Warm lips pressed against his neck, then his cheek, a welcome counterpoint to the cooling breeze that played about them. 

"Always, babe." Clint shifted slightly, taking up a stance that he could hold indefinitely. Sea birds called in the distance, and a peaceful quiet settled around them. 

Phil relaxed against him, leaning his head back on Clint's shoulder, and considered how to explain. 

"It's not a bad thing," he said, rubbing his thumb against the gold band on Clint's left hand, the match to his own. "It's just- it took me by surprise. I've- um. I've thought about it, for years actually. I never really expected..." He glanced back at Clint. 

"What, Phil?"

He let out a breath and faced out again, looking at the waves. "This is going to sound silly, but... you know that it had been, well, a long time since my last relationship before you and I got together?"

Phil felt Clint move in a manner that seemed to indicate 'sort of'. 

"Well, it had been about 16 years, in point of fact. That relationship didn't survive my tour in the Rangers, and I dated a few times after that during my time with SHIELD, but it never went anywhere. I had basically accepted that that part of my life was in the past." Clint tightened his arms around him. "It's okay," Phil continued. "There's a natural end to certain things, and I had a good life going on my own. I had friends and work. I was doing okay."

"But?"

"This is where it gets really cheesy, okay?" Phil looked back at Clint again and felt the breeze lifting his hair in what had to be an unflattering way. He smiled ruefully and Clint grinned back. 

"Lay it on me, babe." 

"Okay, well, you know how sometimes you get a fortune cookie that you just have to keep? I got one, about ten years ago, that said 'Your most memorable dream will come true.' And I had had a dream from years and years ago that I had never forgotten. So I kept that fortune."

He laid his head back against Clint again and continued. "It was a real dream that I woke from one night, back when I was still in that last relationship. I had dreamed that I was standing alone and a man, no one I knew yet clearly a man I loved, came up behind me and took me in his arms, just as you did. I never saw his face, but I felt so loved. It was as that relationship was ending and I think... I just wanted to feel loved. Even after I made peace with the idea that I would probably always be single and that that was okay, I could take that memory out when I needed it. I've held onto it for years. Anyway, it was like that dream came to life just now. And I do feel... very loved."

"Clint?" The only response was the sudden tightening of Clint's arms around him again and the surreptitious sniffling against his neck. 

Clint's arms released him as he turned and they both laughed softly. "Told you it was cheesy." "I'm glad you told me. We can be cheesy together. Where is this fortune anyway?"

"Corner of my desk, mostly under the keyboard," Phil answered as they started back toward the party, moving in unspoken agreement. 

"By the way," Clint said, "I saw your Armani jacket and dress shoes where you left them, but now that you've rolled them up and gotten them damp in the salt air, those suit pants are never going to be the same again."

Phil threw back his head and laughed. This would be an even better memory.

 

 

 


End file.
